Joe Saunders (politician)
Joe Saunders | |
|---|---|
| File:Joe Saunders House portrait.jpg | |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 49th district | |
| In office November 6, 2012 – November 4, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Redistricted |
| Succeeded by | Rene Plasencia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 12, 1983 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | University of Central Florida (BA) |
| Profession | Community organizer |
Joe Saunders (born April 12, 1983) is an American community activist and politician. He was a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 49th District, including northern Orange County and the main campus of the University of Central Florida, from 2012 to 2014.
History
Florida House of Representatives
Following the reconfiguration of state legislative districts in 2012, the 49th District was created, centered around the University of Central Florida campus, and Saunders ran in the open seat. In the Democratic primary, he easily defeated Shayan Elahi, winning the nomination of his party with 65% of the vote. Advancing to the general election, Saunders faced Marco Peña, a development officer for Florida Hospital and the Republican nominee. During the campaign, the Republican Party of Florida targeted the district, referring to Saunders as "Special Interest Joe" due to his work with Equality Florida and claiming that he was "new to the neighborhood," to which Saunders responded by noting that "he has lived in Orlando for more than a decade and attended UCF at the same time as Peña."[1] The Orlando Sentinel endorsed Peña over Saunders, noting that voters had to choose between "two smart, successful candidates" and praising Saunders as a candidate who "knows state issues and has good ideas about many of them," but eventually recommending Peña.[2] In the end, Saunders defeated Peña by a fairly wide margin, winning his first term in the legislature with 56% of the vote. As a freshman legislator, in 2012 Saunders was tapped to serve in leadership as a Deputy Whip for the House Democratic Caucus. In 2013 Saunders achieved an additional milestone when Democratic leadership selected him to serve as the ranking Democratic member of the House Choice and Innovation Education Subcommittee - the only freshman Democrat to serve as a ranking committee leader in the 2012-2014 term. In his first and only term, Saunders would emerge as a leading advocate for public education and a harsh critic of policies that divert public school dollars into private or for-profit schools like vouchers and charter schools[3] Saunders would eventually receive numerous awards and recognitions for his work in early childhood education, K-12 education and higher education policy including leadership awards from the Florida Alliance for Arts Education, a "Freshman Lawmaker of the Year" award from the Florida Education Association and the 2014 Leadership Award from the Florida Association of Early Learning Coalitions for his work to update the health and safety standards of early childhood education providers.
2014 election
In November 2014, Democrats suffered a wave of losses in Central Florida.[4] In a surprise upset, Saunders was narrowly defeated in his reelection campaign by Republican activist and local high school track Rene "Coach P" Plasencia. Plasencia earned 19,119 votes to 18,405 for Saunders, taking the seat by a 714-vote margin and 51% of the voting electorate.[5]
Post-office
Saunders currently serves as the Senior Political Director of Equality Florida where he manages the organization's legislative, civic engagement and electoral programs.[6]
References
- ↑ Garcia, Jason (October 31, 2012). "Amid heavy spending on ads, House race between rookie candidates turns ugly". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
- ↑ "For House Districts 49, 50, 43". Orlando Sentinel. October 9, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
- ↑ "Bills Push Concept Of School Choice". The Ledger. March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- ↑ "GOP scores big win in Central Florida legislative races". Orlando Sentinel. November 4, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ↑ "Florida Department of State - Election Results". Retrieved March 7, 2017.
- ↑ "Former State Representative Joe Saunders Named Equality Florida Senior Political Director | Equality Florida". eqfl.org. Retrieved 2021-11-05.